It's supposed to be 2 degrees and sunny tomorrow. Lets ride at 10:00 from Cornwall and Cypress. We'll agree on the route then, but if It's not icy, we can head over to the south side of SFU and do some strength training drills.
Ohhhh, your-a-gonna-lika-this. Seated, big ring, turkey burning sets of stength intervals in the shadow of Burnaby Mountain. Perfect for this time of year. They won't raise your heart rate, but you're not going walk right for a week.
Don't forget to bring your big ring: you'll need it.
See you then
Monday
Christmas Eve, uh...day, ride.
Tis the season to be riding.
Deck the halls with pedal strokes.
I'm dreaming of a bike Christmas.
Frosty the bike man was a holly, jolly man.
What ever way you cut it, peppering carols with bike word-play is quite terrible. I shouldn't do it, and either should you, so don't do it.
Instead, come riding. 10:00 (It's a fricken holiday man- screw you and your early afternoon chores!), Cornwall and Cypress.
In the spirit of Christmas, Bring a wrapped, non perishable food item to eat during the ride. Remember, cyclists need more than just Macaroni and cheese, so think about springing for tinned meat or some bbq sauce or something.
It'll be casual, but we'll toss in some sprints or some fast hills. We'll probably stop for egg nog latte's too.
See you there.
Deck the halls with pedal strokes.
I'm dreaming of a bike Christmas.
Frosty the bike man was a holly, jolly man.
What ever way you cut it, peppering carols with bike word-play is quite terrible. I shouldn't do it, and either should you, so don't do it.
Instead, come riding. 10:00 (It's a fricken holiday man- screw you and your early afternoon chores!), Cornwall and Cypress.
In the spirit of Christmas, Bring a wrapped, non perishable food item to eat during the ride. Remember, cyclists need more than just Macaroni and cheese, so think about springing for tinned meat or some bbq sauce or something.
It'll be casual, but we'll toss in some sprints or some fast hills. We'll probably stop for egg nog latte's too.
See you there.
Thursday
Cloudy with Breaks.
The weatherfolk are calling for a nice day on Saturday, so lets get some hours in. 9:30 at Cypress and Cornwall. If it's really as nice as they're saying, we'll ride solid for about 3 hours: hitting the shore, Horseshoe Bay, Deep Cove, then break at SFU for lunch. It's an hour home, so it'll be 4.5 hours chamois, 4 hours ride.
I know it's winter, but I want to see some hustle to the crosswalks on the way to the bay. It'll be tempo-piano till the Cove, but expect some burn on the Iron Workers. Big Ring up SFU?...I think so.
See you there.
I know it's winter, but I want to see some hustle to the crosswalks on the way to the bay. It'll be tempo-piano till the Cove, but expect some burn on the Iron Workers. Big Ring up SFU?...I think so.
See you there.
Weekend ride....or not.
I've got a course this Saturday (which is supposed to be the best weather of the weekend-blech), then a team ride on Sunday. Unfortunatly, that means I won't be able to attend the ride. But I'll throw this out there: 10:00 at Cypress and Cornwall for a Sunday Ride. Colin will be there...or will he be fondouted?
Saturday
Winter training...it's all the rage.
Ride Report: 7 showed for this ride. 4.5 hours of riding time, with a good 1/2 hour push on the Richmond Dike to mix things up. 40km/h on gravel while dodging weekend walkers and their dogs??? Yes please.
Colin was bitterly disappointed that he had to cut his tea time short, but it meant we had the best chamois-to-ride ratio we've had all year.
Speaking of the break, we've had a coffee epiphany in Steveston. Blenz (of all places) has managed to get themselves a barista that makes a damn fine espresso. If the Illy joint is empty, the Blenz might be your best bet...yikes!
It's that time of year again boys and girls. Colin has finally put on a real fender, and when he rode away he didn't see his shadow, so it must be winter.
If you wanna go well next race season, you're going to want to start riding the long miles now. If you need some motivation, think back to last season. Remember the last 20km of every race? How'd you feel?
I'm working waaaay to much during the week to squeeze in any rides outside of the track, so this is how I see it going down: 8 hour weekends. 3.5 hours on one day, 4.5hours on the other. That's riding time, not chamois time.
Tomorrow we ride. 9:00, Cypress and Cornwall. UBC, Richmond, Stop in Steveston. More Richmond, then back around UBC and home. 4 hours of riding time is the goal. This is LSD, but the S stands for Steady, not Slow.
If you have your phone in your hand, thumb poised and ready to speed dial me, STOP. Do not phone me! Don't get me wrong, I love you. I love talking to you. You're the best, you really are. I mean, I really love you man. I just don't want to have this ride become a pain in my ass. If you're there, then I'll know it.
This ride is happening rain or shine.
Cheers.
Colin was bitterly disappointed that he had to cut his tea time short, but it meant we had the best chamois-to-ride ratio we've had all year.
Speaking of the break, we've had a coffee epiphany in Steveston. Blenz (of all places) has managed to get themselves a barista that makes a damn fine espresso. If the Illy joint is empty, the Blenz might be your best bet...yikes!
It's that time of year again boys and girls. Colin has finally put on a real fender, and when he rode away he didn't see his shadow, so it must be winter.
If you wanna go well next race season, you're going to want to start riding the long miles now. If you need some motivation, think back to last season. Remember the last 20km of every race? How'd you feel?
I'm working waaaay to much during the week to squeeze in any rides outside of the track, so this is how I see it going down: 8 hour weekends. 3.5 hours on one day, 4.5hours on the other. That's riding time, not chamois time.
Tomorrow we ride. 9:00, Cypress and Cornwall. UBC, Richmond, Stop in Steveston. More Richmond, then back around UBC and home. 4 hours of riding time is the goal. This is LSD, but the S stands for Steady, not Slow.
If you have your phone in your hand, thumb poised and ready to speed dial me, STOP. Do not phone me! Don't get me wrong, I love you. I love talking to you. You're the best, you really are. I mean, I really love you man. I just don't want to have this ride become a pain in my ass. If you're there, then I'll know it.
This ride is happening rain or shine.
Cheers.
Tuesday
Where have I been?
Not here.
I had the pleasure of riding in Tucson Arizona for the last two Saturdays, and while I can say that I missed Vancouver's coffee, I can't say I missed it's weather. How does 20-25 degrees and sunny-every single day-sound to you? Well it sounded good to me too.
My Saturday rides were Tucsons famous shootout, which might just be the coolest group ride in North America.
The ride starts off fairly slow, with 175+ riders heading out of the city towards the Arizona desert at a leisurely pace. As the road gets wider, the speed slowly creeps up, and the faster guys start making their way to the front. The majority of the pack is working stiff Arizonites, but sprinkled in the mix are some pro's, both men and women, and lots of very fit 1's and 2's.
Did I mention that the ride is followed by a wheel support motorcycle? Uh..yeah, some of these guys take this ride pretty seriously. I can see the need though, because right at the very spot where the pack starts turning the screws, the road gets incredibly rough. Bottles fly and pinch flats are the rule.
For all but a few, the goal of the ride is to "get to the bridge". If you make it there, you're going well. After that, the road bucks, rolls, and turns its way to the final 400m uphill drag race. Since I didn't know where that was, I made the mistake of attacking and riding solo until the bottom of said uphill drag race. Big mistake. With flacid despair I looked back to see a strung out pack on the wheel of one very motivated looking Healthnet rider.
I think you can guess what happened next.
In anycase, here is a video of the Shootout:
I had the pleasure of riding in Tucson Arizona for the last two Saturdays, and while I can say that I missed Vancouver's coffee, I can't say I missed it's weather. How does 20-25 degrees and sunny-every single day-sound to you? Well it sounded good to me too.
My Saturday rides were Tucsons famous shootout, which might just be the coolest group ride in North America.
The ride starts off fairly slow, with 175+ riders heading out of the city towards the Arizona desert at a leisurely pace. As the road gets wider, the speed slowly creeps up, and the faster guys start making their way to the front. The majority of the pack is working stiff Arizonites, but sprinkled in the mix are some pro's, both men and women, and lots of very fit 1's and 2's.
Did I mention that the ride is followed by a wheel support motorcycle? Uh..yeah, some of these guys take this ride pretty seriously. I can see the need though, because right at the very spot where the pack starts turning the screws, the road gets incredibly rough. Bottles fly and pinch flats are the rule.
For all but a few, the goal of the ride is to "get to the bridge". If you make it there, you're going well. After that, the road bucks, rolls, and turns its way to the final 400m uphill drag race. Since I didn't know where that was, I made the mistake of attacking and riding solo until the bottom of said uphill drag race. Big mistake. With flacid despair I looked back to see a strung out pack on the wheel of one very motivated looking Healthnet rider.
I think you can guess what happened next.
In anycase, here is a video of the Shootout:
Saturday, February 7th- 9:00 a Denman and Davie...again
Ride Plans:
It's only four weeks until the first spring series race, and only five weeks until the first real spring series race, so perhaps its time to spend some time in the red.
If the weather co-operates (and it is supposed to), we'll go to Horseshoe bay, then the first lookout at Cypress, then SFU. We'll skip deep cove because the traffic there drives way too fast for my taste.
We'll do two hard intervals: the first will be to from about 1/2 way to Horseshoe bay until the round-a-bout. We'll regroup after this, then head up to Cypress. The second Interval will be to the lookout. Both of these interval spots allow us to regroup easily.
The rest of the ride will be LSD.
See you Saturday.
It's only four weeks until the first spring series race, and only five weeks until the first real spring series race, so perhaps its time to spend some time in the red.
If the weather co-operates (and it is supposed to), we'll go to Horseshoe bay, then the first lookout at Cypress, then SFU. We'll skip deep cove because the traffic there drives way too fast for my taste.
We'll do two hard intervals: the first will be to from about 1/2 way to Horseshoe bay until the round-a-bout. We'll regroup after this, then head up to Cypress. The second Interval will be to the lookout. Both of these interval spots allow us to regroup easily.
The rest of the ride will be LSD.
See you Saturday.
Thursday
Saturday, February 7th- 9:00 a Denman and Davie, as usual.
Ride Report:
This was a long, steady(ish) ride. While I turned the pain maker to a slow drip, a couple of the comrades decided that they'd mix it up like a cup of Nebab Instant-fast but unsatisfying. In one particularly brash early season outburst, Colin launched himself into a Zimich training sprint that featured The Pez himself and an unidentified woman.
This was a long, steady(ish) ride. While I turned the pain maker to a slow drip, a couple of the comrades decided that they'd mix it up like a cup of Nebab Instant-fast but unsatisfying. In one particularly brash early season outburst, Colin launched himself into a Zimich training sprint that featured The Pez himself and an unidentified woman.
We awarded Colin his second place ribbon at Whyte Cliff Park, but he never did tell us which rider beat him. In other news, I pissed on my glasses. Hardy fuckin' har. Urine is sterile right?
With those shenanigans out of the way, it was on to the real riding. We kept the pressure on the pedals all the way to the last crosswalk, where I had Colin and Owen "I think I might be able to Cancellara this one" Sturgess pull out their notebooks for the clinic I was holding. In case you weren't able to make it, I'll be teaching "Sprinting Uphill: 53X14 ain't just for Iona" a few more times this year.
After that, most of the gumption was gone, and the group soldiered on at a much more steady pace. We did a quick jaunt through Deep cove, headed over the Second Narrows bridge and up to SFU. I finished off anything that I had left with a 12 minute ascent in my 39X14. Ouch.
After a quick bite to eat we were ready to get going, but what was left of the ride group decided to watched Colin sip his Chai latte for 45 minutes instead.
All in all, a great ride. Thanks for lunch Colin.
Ride Plan:
It's gonna be a long one folks. I hear Sunday might have shite weather, so I'm planning on huddling up with the wife then and riding my ass raw Saturday.
Lets say we'll go:
Around the park, to Horseshoe bay, then along the shore to deep cove. We'll try to avoid the cravings to stop at Honey's for their donuts, and instead head over the ironworkers memorial bridge to the Francis Union bike route. We'll take that to the top of SFU, where we can stop for some JJ Bean coffee at Renaissance (they make it a little weak, so go for the dark roast).
After that, we'll pull on the jackets and capes for the cold ride down, and head back into town.
It'll be three hours+ before we stop, so you might want to bring a bar or something.
Saturday, January 31st- 9:00 a Denman and Davie, as usual.
Ride Report:
Another beauty ride. Ole' Ma Nature pushed the rain back for 12 hours, so our fenders dangled flaccidly and uselessly behind our back wheels, needless ornaments for the day. After meeting Anselmo, Brian and Andrew at the Bucks on Cornwall, we headed around UBC. Adrian, a transported Londoner, put down the crumpets for long enough to enjoy a few hours of Vancouver at it's best, and joined us on SW Marine Drive.
We made the jaunt to Iona, where Anselmo took the sprint, and headed around Richmond. Anselmo and Brian headed home, but were quickly replaced by Darrin, who was a little late for his morning ride. Back to Iona we went, after picking up Brian, an EV rider on a 5 hour Saturday morning death march.
After 4:45 in the saddle without even a morsel of food, I went home and almost passed out.
Saturdays don't get much better.
Ride Plan:
My new toy (an Ipod touch) tells me it's going to rain, so that means...we ride, just like every other freakin' Saturday.
What else did you expect?
We'll do Richmond for one more week. I'm hoping to start climbing soon, but we'll watch the weather.
It'll be UBC, Arthur Lang, Iona, then Richmond counter clockwise. We'll return through UBC, where we'll liberally apply pain.
Another beauty ride. Ole' Ma Nature pushed the rain back for 12 hours, so our fenders dangled flaccidly and uselessly behind our back wheels, needless ornaments for the day. After meeting Anselmo, Brian and Andrew at the Bucks on Cornwall, we headed around UBC. Adrian, a transported Londoner, put down the crumpets for long enough to enjoy a few hours of Vancouver at it's best, and joined us on SW Marine Drive.
We made the jaunt to Iona, where Anselmo took the sprint, and headed around Richmond. Anselmo and Brian headed home, but were quickly replaced by Darrin, who was a little late for his morning ride. Back to Iona we went, after picking up Brian, an EV rider on a 5 hour Saturday morning death march.
After 4:45 in the saddle without even a morsel of food, I went home and almost passed out.
Saturdays don't get much better.
Ride Plan:
My new toy (an Ipod touch) tells me it's going to rain, so that means...we ride, just like every other freakin' Saturday.
What else did you expect?
We'll do Richmond for one more week. I'm hoping to start climbing soon, but we'll watch the weather.
It'll be UBC, Arthur Lang, Iona, then Richmond counter clockwise. We'll return through UBC, where we'll liberally apply pain.
Saturday
Saturday, January 24th
Ride Report:
This turned out to be a great ride. It was a cold day, with a little frost and a little ice here and there, but bright sun, blue sky, and just enough warmth to be able to pour a little bit of pain into our legs.
We met up with the TnA boys on 4th ave, and rode with them for the rest of the loop. 32-35km/h with a good ol' "ride em off your wheels if ya can" drag race to the end of Iona. No sprinting here though--it is still winter after all.
3 and 1/2 hours of non stop pedaling.
Ride Plan: Richmond Route
It's winter, so bring fenders with a flap if the roads are wet, food and warm clothes. Bring extra tubes for the crappy roads. We'll ride the long Richmond route. Steady pace, 30-35km/h on the flats. No stops are likely.
The route is:
1. Burrard Street Bridge to Cornwall. (9:10)
2. Through Jerico, Around UBC on NW and SW Marine Drive and over the Arthur Lang Bridge. (9:30-10:00)
3. Jog over past the RiverRock Casino to River Dr/Rd. (9:45-10:15)
4. Follow River, then take a right on #7 road
5. Right on Cambie, Left on #6, then jog over to #5 on the backroad that is just south (and parallel to Westminster HWY.
6. #5 to Steveston, right on Steveston, follow the dike road routes into the Village of Steveston, where you can stop for Coffee if you want.
7. #1 up the north of Richmond, where we make our way back onto the Arthur Lang, and back around UBC to Vancouver
This turned out to be a great ride. It was a cold day, with a little frost and a little ice here and there, but bright sun, blue sky, and just enough warmth to be able to pour a little bit of pain into our legs.
We met up with the TnA boys on 4th ave, and rode with them for the rest of the loop. 32-35km/h with a good ol' "ride em off your wheels if ya can" drag race to the end of Iona. No sprinting here though--it is still winter after all.
3 and 1/2 hours of non stop pedaling.
Ride Plan: Richmond Route
It's winter, so bring fenders with a flap if the roads are wet, food and warm clothes. Bring extra tubes for the crappy roads. We'll ride the long Richmond route. Steady pace, 30-35km/h on the flats. No stops are likely.
The route is:
1. Burrard Street Bridge to Cornwall. (9:10)
2. Through Jerico, Around UBC on NW and SW Marine Drive and over the Arthur Lang Bridge. (9:30-10:00)
3. Jog over past the RiverRock Casino to River Dr/Rd. (9:45-10:15)
4. Follow River, then take a right on #7 road
5. Right on Cambie, Left on #6, then jog over to #5 on the backroad that is just south (and parallel to Westminster HWY.
6. #5 to Steveston, right on Steveston, follow the dike road routes into the Village of Steveston, where you can stop for Coffee if you want.
7. #1 up the north of Richmond, where we make our way back onto the Arthur Lang, and back around UBC to Vancouver
Sunday
Saturday, January 17th
Ride comments:
Well our first ride sure had it's up and downs...even though we just rode to Richmond. Unfortunately the ride had a road rage incident that ended up pretty ugly. One of our riders had to take a Taxi home after getting his rear wheel run over.
This happens way too much, and it really is a shame. As Cyclists we feel like we are constantly defending ourselves from reckless drivers. When the drivers go from just being careless to being down right vengeful, it can be pretty upsetting.
In any case, the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, and we managed to get some valuable base miles in.
ride time: 3.25 hours, Steady pace.
See you next week!
Ride Plans: Richmond Route
It's winter, so bring fenders with a flap, food and warm clothes. Bring extra tubes for the crappy roads. We'll ride the long Richmond route. Steady pace, 30-35km/h on the flats. No stops are likely.
The route is:
1. Burrard Street Bridge to Cornwall. (9:10)
2. Through Jerico, Around UBC on NW and SW Marine Drive and over the Arthur Lang Bridge. (9:30-10:00)
3. Jog over past the RiverRock Casino to River Dr/Rd. (9:45-10:15)
4. Follow River, then take a right on #7 road
5. Right on Cambie, Left on #6, then jog over to #5 on the backroad that is just south (and parallel to Westminster HWY.
6. #5 to Steveston, right on Steveston, follow the dike road routes into the Village of Steveston, where you can stop for Coffee if you want.
7. #1 up the north of Richmond, where we make our way back onto the Arthur Lang, and back around UBC to Vancouver
Well our first ride sure had it's up and downs...even though we just rode to Richmond. Unfortunately the ride had a road rage incident that ended up pretty ugly. One of our riders had to take a Taxi home after getting his rear wheel run over.
This happens way too much, and it really is a shame. As Cyclists we feel like we are constantly defending ourselves from reckless drivers. When the drivers go from just being careless to being down right vengeful, it can be pretty upsetting.
In any case, the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, and we managed to get some valuable base miles in.
ride time: 3.25 hours, Steady pace.
See you next week!
Ride Plans: Richmond Route
It's winter, so bring fenders with a flap, food and warm clothes. Bring extra tubes for the crappy roads. We'll ride the long Richmond route. Steady pace, 30-35km/h on the flats. No stops are likely.
The route is:
1. Burrard Street Bridge to Cornwall. (9:10)
2. Through Jerico, Around UBC on NW and SW Marine Drive and over the Arthur Lang Bridge. (9:30-10:00)
3. Jog over past the RiverRock Casino to River Dr/Rd. (9:45-10:15)
4. Follow River, then take a right on #7 road
5. Right on Cambie, Left on #6, then jog over to #5 on the backroad that is just south (and parallel to Westminster HWY.
6. #5 to Steveston, right on Steveston, follow the dike road routes into the Village of Steveston, where you can stop for Coffee if you want.
7. #1 up the north of Richmond, where we make our way back onto the Arthur Lang, and back around UBC to Vancouver
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